# CVE-2026-23137: of: unittest: Fix memory leak in unittest_data_add()

> A memory leak in the Linux kernel's device tree unit test code can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23137, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23137, GHSA-rwc9-h9mh-xfwq, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23137, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23137, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23137, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23137, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23137, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23137

## What is CVE-2026-23137?

CVE-2026-23137 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

of: unittest: Fix memory leak in unittest_data_add()

In unittest_data_add(), if of_resolve_phandles() fails, the allocated
unittest_data is not freed, leading to a memory leak.

Fix this by using scope-based cleanup helper __free(kfree) for automatic
resource cleanup. This ensures unittest_data is automatically freed when
it goes out of scope in error paths.

For the success path, use retain_and_null_ptr() to transfer ownership
of the memory to the device tree and prevent double freeing.

Weakness: CWE-401 (Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23137?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23137?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23137 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23137 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23137 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23137 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23137 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23137/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23137/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23137
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23137
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23137

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23137/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.